1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunication networks, and more specifically to a service selection gateway (SSG) which supports tariff changes for traffic volume.
2. Related Art
Service selection gateways (SSG) generally refer to network switches/routers which allow a subscriber to selectively access various services on the Internet. In one common environment, an access provider (e.g., an internet service provider or a shop providing the subscriber terminals to access the services) controls the services a subscriber is permitted to access, and bills the subscriber for accessing/using the services.
In an approach generally referred to as a postpaid model, a subscriber is permitted to access various services and charged later (for example, after termination of a session, monthly, weekly, etc.) for the traffic volume transferred. The traffic volume may specify the number of bytes sent and/or received.
A prior SSG may be designed to support a constant tariff for traffic volume. In general, a tariff refers to a schedule of prices for a unit of each resource used, and a constant tariff implies that the prices are fixed. In such a model, a SSG may send accounting records (either periodically or at the end of a session) indicating traffic volume. The accounting records may be stored in a database and the subscriber may be charged later based on the stored records.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.